Being involved on campus important while pursing a bachelors?

[GreenPrint]

Hi,

I know that (at least I have been told by advisers at my school so weather it's true or not idk) that if you sat in your room and hibernated and studied nonstop every single day and had a 4.0 but some other person didn't have as high of a average but did other stuff that they would select the other person for a job.

When I was in high school I studied a lot and did a full 12 seasons of varsity sports for extra curricular activities and was a member of like 2 clubs. As a result of a heavy course load and and sports I had basically no time for nothing else but these things. I couldn't get a job at McDonald's I wasn't "qualified" but it wasn't really a problem because I didn't really have time for a job any ways. With that being said I went through the first 19 years of my life without a single job =(.

So now that I'm in college I decided I wasn't going to do sports and find a part time job because I didn't think it would really be acceptable to go through all of college without a job as well and be 21 with no work experience at all and try and find a job that was related to my degree. I know work just under the amount allowed for part time employees, 40 hours a week, by a couple of hours. I'm also taking 19 credits a semester. As a result I have no time for nothing but work and studying. I'm not involved in any clubs or anything. Do you think this will matter? I have to work this much every week so that way I will have enough money for the next semester so I see this as necessary. But I really doubt that a employer would really give a darn if I was on a sport team or did something completely unrelated to my career field like if I joined basked weaving club or something. Maybe if I joined a club that was career related or something but I really don't see why it would really matter that much because I'm applying for a job not entrance into college.

So like does it really matter for employment if you do like clubs and crap that have nothing to do with your career field while in college and only pursing a B.S.? I think the amount of hours that I'm working at my part time job is increasing my work experience a lot but I'm not really involved on campus at all, although my part time job is a campus job.

Also would a employer give a darn if I earned my B.S. in 6 semesters or 8 or is the amount of time you earned your degree really not important? I'm trying to earn mine in 6 because it's expensive =/.

Thanks.

 

[Choppy]

In my opinion it's a good idea to get involved in various groups on campus, but that's more from a personal development point of view. They allow you to meet people outside of your major, blow off steam, and explore interests that you may otherwise not have a chance to explore. And sometimes it's these 'side interests' that develop into careers.

On the other hand I think it's important to have a part-time job. This gives you work experience that potential employers will care about and it cuts down or eliminates your debt. In some cases it can also offer similar advantages that you might get from other types of campus involvement.

So it's really a balancing act. If you don't have time to join any clubs at the moment I would't stress out too much over it. I don't think many potential employers will care whether or not you played on a recreational flag football team or not. They care about the skills you bring to the table and who you are as a person. Whether you have experience as a project manager that you got from volunteering with your school's cometative robotics team, or from part-time miliary service doesn't matter so much as the fact that you have that skill.